Food Safety and Quality

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Estimated total time commitment (including non-contact time): 170 hours.

Eligibility for honours or postgraduate coursework programs.

Chemistry and/or biology or equivalent background.

Students are expected to participate in seminars and group activities.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

• What are customers’ expectations of food? - Consumers vs. Food manufacturers.
• Regulatory requirements - FSANZ, AQIS, State Health and Dairy Authorities, importing countries, Codex Alimentarius.
• Food quality systems from ‘paddock to plate’, within the framework of ISO 9001/2 for the food processing industry.
• Management of suppliers of goods and services, outsourcing; role of laboratory quality assurance and in-process control in quality systems.
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) technique and food safety risks - microbiological, chemical, physical, as well as food intolerance and allergenic responses - control or preventive measures.
• Applications of HACCP to food quality systems.
• Good manufacturing practices.
• Performance measures and benchmarking.
• Improvement tools.
• Statistical Process Control.
• Costs of quality failures - (i) quantifiable and (ii) intangible.
• Crisis management, including product recall procedures.
• Role of staff in food safety and quality systems.
• Quantitative risk assessment.
• Role of internal and external auditing.

The objectives of this subject are to:

• Develop management skills needed for assuring safe high quality commercial food manufacturing.
• Familiarise students with the Australia and International Regulatory environment relating to the food chain.
• Survey important quality control concepts and skills needed in the food industry.

Three assignments of 1000 words, each on:

• Quality and safety management tools (20%), approximately due in week 5.
• Statistical quality tools (20%), approximately due in week 8
• Case study of course concepts (20%), approximately due in week 11.

One 2-hour written examination (40%).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:

• Academic excellence.
• Greater in-depth understanding of scientific disciplines used in industry.
• The study will develop critical thinking and analysis and problem solving.
• Flexibility and level of transferable skills should be enhanced though improved ability to communicate ideas effectively in both written and verbal formats.